Journal Prompts to Get You Into Journaling

As a college student, I frequently feel like I am running around with my head cut off from class to clubs to jobs to a social life. Feelings of being overwhelmed or having negative thoughts can be consuming.

Especially as the winter blues start to set in, it is important to have an outlet to pour your emotions into, or else they will continue to pile up. My outlet of choice is journaling, as it has really helped me improve at recognizing and dealing with emotions.

Brain dumps in journaling can be great, and are an amazing way to sort through emotions. However, it can be incredibly daunting and vulnerable to sit down and start to dump your feelings onto a page. When it feels like writing anything is the hardest task in the world, I always turn to a prompt to get me started. 

With journaling prompts, it is important to remember that it’s just a prompt. Do not confine yourself to just answering that question. The goal of journaling is reflecting on your own feelings, so any reflection is good, whether it aligns with the prompts or not. 

gratitude journaling

Gratitude journaling is arguably the easiest type of journaling, and can be as complicated or simple as you want it to be. There is truly no wrong way to write a gratitude journal. 

Start by simply writing down five things that you are grateful for. You can think about it in a broad sense, or think of five things you were grateful for today. The key with this is to not overthink it: it can be as complicated as relationships or as simple as the lunch you had that day. 

The key with gratitude journaling is consistency. Doing it one day is great; however, I really start to notice it affecting my overall mindset. 

a weekly recap

What went well this week? What is something I can learn from this week? What is something I can take into next week?

Questions that will recount your week are the easiest way to figure out what in your life is bringing you joy, and what is pulling you down. I like to do this on Saturday mornings, but anytime you can sit down and explore the week you just had will benefit you.

Reflecting on your biggest habits at the end of each week gives you an opportunity to correct any bad habits before they continue. 

Self-Reflection

What qualities do I admire most in other people? 

When you are looking to reflect on values and qualities, this is a great place to start. Think of your favorite people in the world: now, why are they your favorite people? What prominent qualities help make them your favorite person? 

Then, furthering that: How can I better embody these qualities?

Once you have a list of qualities you are fond of, think of which ones you most embody. Where do you represent these values? How can you add important values in other aspects of your life? 

Finally, to look more inwardly: Do you often derive validation or affirmation from others? In what ways? 

This prompt is amazing to look inward into where you are getting your happiness from. It can be very helpful to look directly at where you are looking to other people and what aspects of your life you can validate yourself in. 

To take it a step further, examine how you can shift away from external validations in some spaces of life. This doesn’t have to be a huge life change, but think of small ways that you can start no longer needing others’ approval. 

These prompts are an amazing starting point if journaling seems incredibly daunting to you. If you’re looking for more journal prompts, an amazing person online is Eli Rallo. She posts TikToks about journaling, specifically with prompts to guide you on your journaling journey.

Whatever issue is feeling the most present in your life, journaling can help you work through it. It has personally helped me immensely with being more positive, as well as understanding my feelings better.

• college
• gratitude
• journaling
• mental health
• reflection